Saturday, July 2, 2011

This morning was our earliest start yet. To avoid as much of the heat as possible, we mounted up and headed out of the Hampton-Fayetteville parking lot at 5:50am! Our ride today was 316 miles to our home in Carrollton, TX. The first part of the ride was nice. With the sun rising at our backs, we were enjoying the twisties on US62 from Fayetteville to Muskogee, OK.

Boy when the weather changes, it changes! From the cold and rain of Michigan to the brutal heat and humidity of Illinois and Missouri. In anticipation of the heat to come, we left early, heading South on US 421 for the 424 mile trek from Valparaiso, IN to Jefferson City, MO. For us, this is a long day since we take the back roads and try to avoid Interstate riding. By noon, temperatures were into the 90s and the wind was intense.

We stop for lunch in Springfield, IL at Smokey Bones. The goal was BBQ, the result was disappointing. This is a "concept" restaurant that tries to look like a BBQ place, but offers a menu that more closely represents TGI Fridays. I tried the ribs, yuck! The first clue is the lack of any smoke smell in the parking lot OR inside the restaurant. Avoid this place.

After leaving Springfield, it just kept getting hotter. By the time we reached Jefferson City, the heat index was 106! We made several stops along the way to take drinks of ice water and even put pieces of ice on our heads to cool off. Rickee is pretty tough when it comes to rain, cold and wind, but she cannot take the heat. I guess I am sort of the same, it really wears you down.

Our ride tomorrow to Fayetteville, AR does not look to be any cooler or more comfortable. However, it is only 315 miles and we will get an ever earlier start.